Why am I passionate about this?

As an award-winning author of nonfiction books for kids, Iā€™m passionate about discovering titles by other authors that introduce a topic innovatively and engagingly. I obtained a B.S. in Biology, with an emphasis in Ecology, from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. I received the 2023 Stephen Fraser Encouragement Award and a 2023 finalist for the Russel Freedman Award. I feel that itā€™s important to plant seeds of curiosity and encourage children to look at the world around them through a different lens. I love reading books that present complicated ideas in a way that young readers (and adults!) can understand.  


I wrote

Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires

By Jessica Stremer, Michael Garland (illustrator),

Book cover of Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires

What is my book about?

Goats and beavers. Drones and parachutes. Pinecones and beetles. What do they have in common? Theyā€™re all crucial tools inā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest

Jessica Stremer Why did I love this book?

This book took hold of my heart and has yet to let go. I was immediately sucked in with the engaging narrative, which was thoughtfully blended with facts to highlight the current crisis surrounding the population of Southern Resident orcas of the Pacific Northwest.

I felt like I was getting to know each of the featured orcas personally, which made me care about their struggles even more. This book is perfect for orca lovers and anyone interested in marine science.

By Nora Nickum,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Superpod as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Meet the playful and beloved Southern Resident orcas and the people working to save them from extinction using tactics that vary from medicine and laws to drones and dogs

The endangered Southern Resident orcas whistle and click their way around the waters of the Pacific Northwest in three small family groups while facing boat noise, pollution, and scarce food. Superpod introduces young readers to the experts who are training scat-sniffing dogs, inventing ways to treat sick orcas, quieting the waters, studying whales from the air, and speaking out. Author Nora Nickum also discusses her own work on laws to protectā€¦


Book cover of Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill

Jessica Stremer Why did I love this book?

Who knew that learning about roadkill could be so fun? I honestly hadnā€™t given much thought to roadkill before reading this book, but I now look at it very differently.

Each chapter opens up a new world of scientific discovery, such as how learning about roadkill is used to understand contagious diseases. Itā€™s a gross topic, for sure, but the author handled it very well.

This book leads to many additional ā€œwhat ifā€ conversations.

By Heather L. Montgomery, Kevin O'Malley (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Something Rotten as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

An ALA Notable book
An Orbis Pictus Recommended title

When Heather L. Montgomery sees a rattlesnake flattened on the side of the road, her first instinct is to pick it up and dissect it--she's always wanted to see how a snake's fangs retract when they close their mouths, and it's not exactly safe to poke around in a live reptile's mouth. A wildlife researcher with a special penchant for the animals that litter the roadways, Heather isn't satisfied with dissecting just one snake. Her fascination with roadkill sets her off on a journey from her own backyard and the roadwaysā€¦


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Book cover of To Do Justice: White Winter

To Do Justice by Laurie Marr Wasmund,

To Do Justice is the first book in the White Winter Trilogy. The other books are To Love Kindness and To Walk Humbly. The Trilogy follows the same set of characters through eight tumultuous years in their lives and in the history of the world. To Do Justice startsā€¦

Book cover of Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds

Jessica Stremer Why did I love this book?

Itā€™s hard to imagine our world looking any different than it does today, but this book will take you back millions of years to a time when camels, elephants, and, of course, rhinos roamed North America.

That is, until a volcano buried them in ash. I found the discovery, excavation, and study of these animals captivating. The chapters are short, and the illustrations are engaging.

This book left me curious about what other fossils are buried beneath our feet and what story their discovery might tell. 

By Alison Pearce Stevens, Matt Huynh (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rhinos in Nebraska as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Twelve million years ago, rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America. They would gather at nearby watering holes - eating, drinking, and trying not to become someone else's lunch. But one day, in what we now know as Nebraska, everything changed. The explosion of a super volcano a thousand miles away sent a blanket of ash that buried these animals for millennia.

Until 1953, when a seventeen-year-old farm worker made an unbelievable discovery.

This is the first book to be published about the Ashfall Fossil Beds, where more than 200 perfectly preserved fossils have been found. Step into the pastā€¦


Book cover of Bugs for Breakfast: How Eating Insects Could Help Save the Planet

Jessica Stremer Why did I love this book?

This book was a really interesting read highlighting insects' role in feeding people worldwide. There were many times I said, ā€œEww,ā€ while reading this, but I also had many opportunities to examine what is typical in other societies compared to what we consider normal in our own.

I love that the included recipes provide an interactive element to this book.

By Mary Boone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bugs for Breakfast as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Most North Americans would rather squish a bug than eat it.

But mopane worms are a tasty snack in Zimbabwe, baby bees are eaten right out of the can in Japan, and grasshopper tacos are popular in Mexico. More than one-fourth of the worldā€™s population eats insectsā€”a practice called entomophagy. Bugs for Breakfast helps middle-grade readers understand the role insects fill in feeding people around the world.
 
Readers will be introduced to the insect specialties and traditions around the globe. They'll discover how nutritious bugs can be and why dining on insects is more environmentally friendly than eating traditional proteinā€¦


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Book cover of Sacred Psychiatry: Bridging the Personal and Transpersonal to Transform Health and Consciousness

Sacred Psychiatry by Judy Tsafrir, M.D.,

Sacred Psychiatry describes the holistic approach I take to healing in my practice which serves as a template for meeting these times of accelerated transformation on our planet with resilience and courage.

At the heart of the book are recommendations for developing a multi-dimensional sense of yourself through a varietyā€¦

Book cover of American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South

Jessica Stremer Why did I love this book?

I was hooked (pun intended) after reading only a few pages of this book! It tells the story of the hookworm, a parasite that caused thousands of Americans living in the South to become deathly ill in the late 1800s, and the efforts of scientists to educate those individuals in order to prevent even more from becoming sick.

The photographs of real people infected with hookworms allowed me to connect even deeper to the story. 

By Gail Jarrow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked American Murderer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Included on NPR's 2022 "Books We Love" List
Finalist, 2023 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction 
ALSC Notable Children's Book

What made workers in the American South so tired and feeble during the 19th and early 20th centuries? This exciting medical mystery uncovers the secrets of the parasite hookworm, commonly known as the ā€œAmerican Murderer,ā€ and is the latest title in Gail Jarrowā€™s (YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award-winning author) Medical Fiascoes series.

Imagine microscopic worms living in the soil. They enter your body through your bare feet, travel to your intestines, and stay there for years suckingā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires

By Jessica Stremer, Michael Garland (illustrator),

Book cover of Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires

What is my book about?

Goats and beavers. Drones and parachutes. Pinecones and beetles. What do they have in common? Theyā€™re all crucial tools in fighting, preventing, and adapting to wildfires! My book is a timely middle-grade nonfiction overview of the incredible ways animals detect, respond, and adapt to wildfires and how climate change affects the frequency and severity of these devastating events in nature.

This breathtaking nonfiction book focuses on unique angles on a hot topic, including injury rehabilitation efforts, species that use wildfires to their advantage, how areas repopulate post-fire, and the animals that help to prevent/fight wildfires. The riveting, kid-friendly text is accompanied by stunning woodcut illustrations and full-color photographs, as well as extensive back matter with a glossary, sources, and index.

Book cover of Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest
Book cover of Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill
Book cover of Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds

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Who Is a Worthy Mother? by Rebecca Wellington,

I grew up thinking that being adopted didnā€™t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courtā€™s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over womenā€™s reproductive rights placesā€¦

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Grand Old Unraveling by John Kenneth White,

It didnā€™t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.

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